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“There is no denying that [journalism] does not only inform people but also helps people shape opinions regarding various socio-political scenarios.”
Depending on the publicationa newspaper articlewill bewritten aboutlocal, national or internationalcurrent affairs/events.
Introduction to Newspaper Articles
There are many types of newspapers, from school/university publications tolarge news outlets like the Daily Mail, or Guardian. Local papers will focus more on events in and around the community, for examplethey may cover community fates or markets. They’ll also have stories about local people. They will still be written in a professional and formalway butmay have a more conversational tone.
Unlike local papers, national publications will focus more on events that effect the wider populous. They will also report on noteworthy international events, such as crises andwars, but also sporting and entertainment eventslikethe Olympics. They advertise to a much wider audience than local papers and need to relate tomost ofthe population.
Purpose of a Newspaper Article
News articles are written toinform and educatereaders on current affairs/events. They are used to provide readers with information they need/want to know about the world around them. You will either be told what to write your article on or have a choice oftopics related to the module this assessment is for.
Newspaper articles give as much information as possible at the time of publication; if a journalist writes about an ongoing case there may be limited information available, so they might interview people related to the case, or try find background information to help inform readers more.
News articles are written on a whole range of topics due to the large target audiences of newspapers. Most papers will have several sections ranging from current national and international affairs to sports and celebrity news. There are some papers, however which solely focus on a specific topic, therefore have a smaller target audience.
Be sure of your topic and potential target audience.
Example: there are sporting papers whichmainly reporton sporting events and news.Whereassome others focus on businessand economic current affairs.
The Reliability Spectrum
Normally when writing a public communication piece you want to be looking at examples to get a feel for their tone. However, with newspapers there is also a need to think about the range of reliability that they represent.
When thinking about the press, we could look at it as a spectrum on the basis of reliability due to the variety of articles and news outlets. 
If you are writing to inform, aim for your work to be on the objective end of the spectrum where you stay impartial, leaving personal opinions out of your work. Whereas, if you are writing to persuade or analyseconsider moving down the spectrum. Here we find thelikes ofLetters to the Editor and Opinion Pieces; work that is critical and has more focus on the writer's opinions.
When writing any form of article ensure that you are not creating fake news(false or misleading information presented as news). Usereliable sources and citeall references to keep your work credible, think of this as any other assessment. You will lose marks for not using and citing references correctly. Use our Referencing Guide to ensure you use the correct referencing system.
The reliability spectrum can be highly influencedby politics and the political view points of journalists, editors and sometimes ownersof publications which will determine the tone of theirarticles. Your assessment brief will determine where your work sits on the spectrum, depending on whether you've been asked to inform, educate or persuade.
Example: If you've been asked to persuade you may state your opinion, but ensure these are informed opinions that are backed up.
